September 2, 2018 Homegrown Root Harvest

We started collecting the harvest of root vegetables this past week. Truth be told, we had more ambition than results.

Our onion crop went in late. Purple, white, and yellow onions went in in mostly unprepared soil, fifty at a time. So it was these first planted onions we took. In the end we got a one year's supply of all three, in various sizes, mostly perfect for a small household. We'll use most of the smaller onions for seed next spring. I replanted a bed of onions for winter harvest, but the results will be experimental.  Hiede Hay (Ann) made some wonderful Pico de gallo with our Jalapeno peppers, SanMaranzano tomatoes, and the white onions. Absolutely wonderful on chips or in eggs. The purple onions were lightly spicy on hamburgers a few night's back too.

We got our potatoes in late too and only took about 120 pounds out of the ground as the result. I tried planting them in raised rows, which was an unnecessary step and probably reduced our yields. But there is enough for eating all through them winter and spring, leaving enough seed to increase the planting next Spring. We had three varieties in the ground this year and it seems a good mix.

• Going into the year we were thinking that our favorite potato was going to be the German Butterball. Light yellow flesh (not as yellow as a Yukon Gold, but similar) with a semi-russeted skin that brings some earthiness into the flavor. We tried it in the garden at the old house last year and found it made a great baker or fry. We had a hard time finding seed potatoes this year but got enough to propagate seed for next year's planting, and eat about three gallons this winter.
• The break-out new favorite turned out to be the Kennebec. Super thin-skinned and nearly white flesh. This one makes a masher with flavor that holds up very well against gravy. It does very well in stew, if cooked separately and added at the end. The starch probably breaks down too easily for longer cooking, but the Kennebec  had a great "high end" restaurant appearance and flavor. We got about five gallons for eating and a whole lot of seeds this year. Yummy!
• Once our long time favorite, we also put in the Red Pontiac (now replaced by the more potatoes a-la-mode (above)). We will use the mostly for boiling and cooking with meat,s since it holds up well when being a bit over-cooked. The flavor is not as strong as with the other varieties we tried, but the Pontiac does very well in stew and is extra creamy if served on the side with fish or fowl and is also very nice to look at. We got five gallons from our planting this year and will have plenty of seeds for next year's crop.

None of the radishes or carrots we planted never did much, but we'll have to solve this riddle next year. We did get about three "French Breakfast" Radishes this year (out of two hundred attempts). They had a nice light flavor and tubular appearance which makes it worth pursuing next year. The carrot thing was just disappointing. We'll get them next year.

We'll eat very well this winter and be ready for a proper planting schedule next year.